When can private doctors in LA administer COVID vaccines?

President Biden is promising to ramp up coronavirus vaccination efforts during his first 100 days in office. The former Trump administration didn’t have a comprehensive distribution plan, which left states confused about how many doses they’d get and when.

In LA County, the health department controls the details about vaccine distribution. Currently, physicians must go through a multi-step application to be certified to administer the vaccine.

Dr. Abe Malkin is the founder and practicing physician with Concierge MD LA, a house-call medical service. He says his practice is at the mercy of the county’s health department when it comes to receiving the vaccine.

“Getting information about how to even apply was difficult,” he says. “We had to do a lot of research on our own. I know that there [is] public information available. However it’s hard to find and difficult to navigate."

Malkin adds, “But we eventually did navigate the process and have applied through a multi-step process, part of which involves applying to the health department, showing … patients under our care, displaying the ability to administer the vaccine, including cold storage requirements."

Concierge MD LA heard back after weeks of waiting. “This morning we heard that [our application is] under review and [private] practices like ours will be hoping to get the vaccine soon.”

The exact date is still to be determined.